Conventionally, there are known headrests for vehicle seats in which speakers are installed in lateral positions located on the left and right of a portion with which the head of an occupant comes into contact (see, e.g., Patent Citation 1 (Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. H4-104948)). It is also conventionally known for speakers to be installed in the upper part of the seat back of a vehicle seat, at lateral positions to the left and right of the neck of the occupant (see, e.g., Patent Citation 2 (Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. H6-086612)).
However, in the headrest in Patent Citation 1, since the entire speaker is large, a problem is presented in that visibility from the rear is obstructed by the headrest. Additionally, in the vehicle seat in Patent Citation 2, although there is no obstacle while an occupant is sitting in a prescribed position, a problem is presented in that the occupant might experience discomfort due to their body touching a hard framework present around the speakers when sitting down on the seat, getting up from the seat, subjected to violent rocking motion, or in other events.
In order to overcome the problems described above, headrests have been considered in which urethane pads are arranged in front of the speakers, in lieu of the framework. According to this configuration, the occupant experiences no discomfort relating to hardness even when touching portions in which the urethane pads are placed; therefore, an advantage is presented in that the speakers can be arranged close to the body of the individual, wherefore the headrests and other components can be formed compactly.
However, urethane pads have a property that inhibits sound from being readily transmitted, presenting a problem in that it is difficult for the occupant to hear sound from the speaker in cases in which urethane pads are placed in front of the speakers. Reducing the thickness of the urethane pads makes it possible to hear sound at a given acoustic pressure, even in cases in which speakers are placed on the reverse side of the urethane pads; however, in such a case, another problem is presented in terms of limited function for holding the head and/or body of the occupant.